Movable shelf apparatus

ABSTRACT

A movable shelf apparatus is described which is capable of being adjustably positioned within a bay of a truck or trailer body for article separation purposes and for supporting, handling, and transporting stacked articles during transit from manufacturing points to sales points. The movable shelf apparatus includes a shelf that is supported within the bay by four roller chains that are recessed within the divider bay walls of the truck or trailer body. The shelf is inclined towards the center of the truck or trailer body to minimize slippage of the articles during transit. The roller chains are driven by a rachet and gear arrangement that is positioned below the compartment floor line of the truck or trailer body so as not to interfere with the interior of the bays and any forklift pallet interface.

United States Patent [191 Craft, III

1 MOVABLE SHELF APPARATUS James Pressley Craft, III, College Park, Ga.

Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta,

Filed: June 12, 1972 Appl. No.: 261,851

Inventor:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1953 Strock 187/17 3/1901Bolander.... 187/17 11/1946 Brunette 187/17 X 7/1970 Bruce et a1....214/6 P l/1906.

Wands l87/8.59 X

[ Jan. 22, 1974 1,561,753 11/1925 Swanner 187/8.59 2,779,487 l/1957Harris 214/75 R Primary ExaminerAlbert J. Makay Attorney, Agent, orFirmWilliam Dexter Brooks [57] ABSTRACT A movable shelf apparatus isdescribed which is capable of being adjustably positioned within a bayof a truck or trailer body for article separation purposes and forsupporting, handling, and transporting stacked articles during transitfrom manufacturing points to sales points. The movable shelf apparatusincludes a shelf that is supported within the bay by four roller chainsthat. are recessed within the divider bay walls of the truck or trailerbody. The shelf is inclined towards the center of the truck or trailerbody to minimize slippage of the articles during transit. The rollerchains are driven by a rachet and gear arrangement that is positionedbelow the compartment floor line of the truck or trailer body so as notto interfere with the interior of the bays and any forklift palletinterface.

11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEB JAN 2 2 I974 SHEET 1 OF 3 llll.

PATENTEI] JAN 2 2 I974 SHEU 2 [IF 3 FIG 3 MOVABLE SHELF APPARATUSBACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a movable shelfapparatus capable of being adjustably positioned within a truck ortrailer body and more particularly, within a bay of those bodiesespecially suited for transporting stacked articles, such as cases ofbottled beverages.

The transportation of cases of bottled beverages, such as milk, softdrinks, beer, wine and the like by a bottler from a bottling plant to aroute distribution point has always been a time consuming and expensiveoperation. It has heretofore been practiced where these cases weredelivered on bay-type delivery bodies or trailers, that pallets of thearticles to be delivered were placed in a fixed location in the variousbays. Usually at least one full bay along with either skirt or starterbays (not large enough to accommodate a pallet) were required to be leftopen to provide a place to store empty containers to be returned as thefull cases were delivered. It was thought that as the first open baybecame full of empty containers, enough full cases would have alreadybeen delivered to open up other bays for empty containers. Theseconventional truck or trailer bodies were found to be quite practicalunder those circumstances where distribution only involved (1) a limitednumber of different type or size articles, (2) a small volume of casesor (3) the return of a small number of empty containers. However, manydifficulties were encountered under those circumstances wheredistribution involved (1) a plurality of different type or sizearticles, (2) a large volume of cases or (3) the return of a largenumber of empty containers. These difficulties were primarily due to thefact that as articles were delivered to the sales outlets, many of thestacks of articles were depleted simultaneously, and not one stack at atime. This resulted in storage space for empty containers not beingreadily available at a constant rate throughout the route day and thebottler was required to utilize one or more of the following solutionsto minimize these difficulties:

1. The bottler would purchase a larger truck body so that more emptybays could go out on the delivery route. This not only increased theequipment costs, but decreased the maneuverability of the vehicle andthus was detrimental in metropolitan delivery operations.

2. As empty containers were encountered, they were placed on top of thearticles remaining on the truck to be delivered, necessitating aninefficient shuffling of empty containers at subsequent delivery stopsin order to deliver the articles beneath.

3. The articles to be delivered were periodically restacked andconsolidated throughout the delivery day in order to provide sufficientstorage space for empty containers on a pallet without interfering orblocking the other articles remaining on the truck to be delivered.Frequently, this restacking resulted in different types and sizes ofarticles being placed on top of one another, thus requiring areshuffling of them at subsequent stops in order to locate the correctarticles to be delivered.

4. Routes were run in an inefficient sequence and those stops normallyhaving a great number of empty containers to be returned were scheduledtowards the end of the day when fewer articles remained on the truck fordelivery.

5. An additional empty vehicle was sent out to selected stops on thedelivery route in order to reduce the number of empty containers to bepicked up later by the article delivery vehicle itself. This also was avery costly procedure for the bottler to implement in his distributionoperations.

Under practical circumstances, a com bination of the above solutionswere generally employed. All of the methods employed, however, resultedin a considerable expense because of increased time requirements fordelivery routes and/or increased equipment expenditures. These increased7 expenditures have become disastrous in recent years, since there hasbeen a growing trend in the industry to shift compensation for thedelivery salesman function from abase plus commission to an hourlybasis. One result of this has been the equation of time and money interms of route delivery. Thus, by decreasing the time requirement ofroute delivery, substantial monetary savings can be achieved. With theadvent of preselling delivery, delivery routes now deliver more casesand consequently pick up more empty containers. The rehandlingrequirement on a fixed size body is exponentially proportional to theamount of cases delivered. Accordingly, new delivery methods compoundthe rehandling problems and consequently reduce delivery efficiencies,thereby resulting in additional expenditures of capital and labor. r''pieany metastasis g asate'shursih'g of cases 'to be' delivered, as wellas empty containers occur at the top of an article loaded pallet. Thedeliveryman is frequently required to handle pound cases at arms lengthand in many cases, while being in a suspended position alongside thetruck or trailer body. This rehandling requirement is not only timeconsuming but also very fatiguing to the deliveryman.

Recently, with the influx of a plurality of different sized returnablepackages, it has become a common practice to sort the empty containersby size before rcturning to the plant. This has resulted in as many asfour different sizes of empty containers being picked up at the firstand second delivery stops, while thereexis'ts at most only one ortwoempty pallets on the truck on which to separate and store thereturnable packages. This practice requires considerable restacking ofempty containers throughout the route day in order to separate the foursizes of empty containers on'the separate pallets as they becomeavailable. In addition to this restacking practice being very timeconsuming, it is an inefficient distribution maneuver for a bottler toinstitute.

Another practice is to column stack the articles, such as beveragecases, on the pallets in the warehouse so that the articles may beremoved one column at a time versus one layer at a time. While thispractice provides sufficient space to place empty containers on a palletprior to and during the delivery of the stacked items, fewer pallets ofbeverage cases are capable of being stacked on top of one another due tothe instability of a column stacked load versus a pattern tier stackedload. This column stacking practice is undesirable and results in adecreased warehouse efficiency. Moreover, the empty containers that arecolumn stacked are also less stable than those that are pattern stackedby tiers.

This results in considerably more bottle breakage during plant handlingof the pallets.

In order to provide an increased number of product separation areas in abay body, another practice has been to use permanent shelves which areavailable on the market to fit into a bay, dividing it into a pluralityof fixed storage areas. These shelves usually can be folded back againstthe back wall of the bay when not in use and can be placed at a limitednumber of fixed locations within the bay. However, once articles havebeen placed on the shelf, the shelf cannot be moved or adjustablypositioned within the bay of the truck body without unloading thearticles andreinstalling the shelf at another fixed location within thebay. This creates a problem during the delivery route when differenttype and size articles are encountered for return to the plant. Thisapparatus has other disadvantages in that the predetermined and fixeddivision of the bay prohibits placing or removing a complete and fullpallet load of stacked articles into or from the bay without taking itapart and stacking the articles individually by hand.

Accordingly, there has arisen a need in the industry for the productionof a movable shelf apparatus, preferably of simple construction, capableof being adjustably positioned quickly at all times during thedistrubution route in a permanent location within the bay of the truckor trailer body for article separation .purposes, to accommodatepackages of different types and sizes and for supporting, handling andtransporting stacked articles during transit from manufacturing pointsto sales points.

OBJECTS OF INVEN'l'lON The principal object of the present invention isto provide a movable shelf apparatus for dividing a bay in a truck ortrailer body into adjustable proportions, which arrangement includes aload supporting shelf that may be permanently positioned or utilized atany time during transit at any position in the bay of a truck or trailerbody.

' I Another object is to provide a load supporting shelf which whenmechanically activated or otherwise adjustably positioned within the bayof a truck, maintains a relative position within an A-frame bodyparallel to the base of th bay and perpendicular to the back bay wall soas to incline the stacked articles towards the center of the body tominimize slippage of articles during transit.

Another object is to provide a mechanism for supporting and elevating aload supporting shelf within a bay so as not to interfere or otherwiseobstruct the expeditious loading and unloading of stacked articles onpallets that are supported on the shelf and/or in the bay itself bymeans of a conventional pallet forklift.

Another object is to provide a means of lowering or elevating a shelf ofboth mechanical and manual operation which shall provide maximumsimplicity and economy of manufacture and simplicity and reliability inoperation.

Another object is to provide a flexible means of separating at least twodifferent types of articles that are normally encountered in routedelivery, wherein the first is loaded out and at each stop a portion ofthe first is off loaded and some of the second is picked up, such aswhere full cases of beverage are delivered and cases of empty glass arepicked up.

Another object is to provide a truck or trailer body with a movableshelf apparatus which is protected from normal road hazards such as dirtand gravel and from broken glass at the bottom of each bay.

5 A further object is to provide each bay of a truck body with anindependent means for activating individual shelf movement within eachbay and wherein said means are permanently attached to each bay toenable each bay to be divided into adjustable proportions.

A still further object is to provide a means of locking the movement ofthe shelf at any position to prohibit movement of the shelf duringtransit. These, other, and further objects, important features, andadvantages of the present invention to which attention has notspecifically been directed hereinabove, will be better understood andappreciated by those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have discovered that a movable shelfapparatus located in one or more bays of a truck or trailer body offersignificant advantages not otherwise available in current route deliveryequipment designed for transporting stacked articles on pallets.

For example, by raising the shelf of the present invention to theuppermost limit of travel, a full pallet load of stacked articles may beplaced in the area of the bay underneath the shelf by a forklift. As thecases of articles (in terms of the beverage industry) are removed fromthe pallet for delivery, the shelf can be lowered in the available spacethus created, providing room for the empty containers to be returned andstored on the load supporting shelf. Furthermore, by placing an emptypallet on the shelf during the loading operation, the empty containerscan be stacked on the pallet during route delivery in a most efficientmanner and later unloaded by a forklift without a rehandlingrequirement.

As more cases of articles are delivered, more space is created in thebay so that the shelf can be lowered further, thus providing anincreased amount of space for returned empty containers. As the numberof returned empty containers rarely exceeds the number of cases to bedelivered, there is generally always a sufficient amount of space on theshelf on which to place empty containers because the space on the shelfis inversely proportional to the number of cases of articles remainingon the pallet underneath the shelf.

Four movable shelf arrangements in one truck body (one arrangement pertruck bay) offer four different pallets on which to place containers tobe returned, thus allowing initial product separation of up to fourdifferent types or sizes of containers. This substantially minimizes therehandling difficulties presently required in conventional vehicles inorder to return empty containers to the bottling plant sorted by size.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that the present invention hasmany advantages over conventional article handling and distributionequipment. THe movable shelf apparatus of the present invention allowscomplete article separation within the same bay of cases to be deliveredfrom those empty containers that are picked up. It provides optimuminteraction with forklift loading and unloading of pallet bay deliverybodies by allowing a full pallet of cases of full product to be placedin the bay at the start of a delivery route and a full pallet of emptiesto be removed from the same bay at the completion of the delivery route.By minimizing the restacking and rehandling requirements of casespresently necessary, the present invention reduces deliveryman fatigue,shortens delivery times and thereby reduces attendant delivery costs.Movable shelves also allow pattern tier stacking of cases to bedelivered, as well as empty containers to be returned (withoutrehandling), thereby increasing warehouse efficiency and reducing bottleor package breakage. By allowing cases to be delivered and emptycontainers to be worked efficiently in the same bay, movable shelvesallow increased delivery capacities on conventional delivery bodies byeliminating the normal procedure of leaving open one or more bays forthe initial collection of empty containers. Furthermore, the presentinvention allows existing loads to be spread out among more bays forincreased route capacity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING The present invention will now bedescribed, by way of example, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a truck body embodyingthe principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical, transverse sectional view through the truck body,taken along line 11 in FIG. 1 and additionally including stacked casesof bottles (full and empties); and

. FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective of the movable shelf arrangementof the present invention, portions being broken way for simplicity ofillustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Referring to the drawing in detail andmore particularly FIGS. 1-3, a truck body 20 will be seen incorporatingthe present invention. A movable shelf 1 is diagrammatically illustratedas being supported by four roller chains 2, each connected to the shelf1 by an attaching link and bracket member 3 forming four complete chainloops from the top to the bottom of the bay wall portions 14 of thetruck 20.

These chains 2 are recessed within the divider bay walls 14 of a truckor trailer body 20, so as not to obstruct pallet 21 movement into andout of a bay 15. The nature of the extension, reinforcement andmodification to the divider walls 14 and body frames [6 themselvesvaries according to each individual body manufacturer. The chains 2 eachform a continuous loop from a top sprocket 4 to a corresponding bottomsprocket 6. The four top idler sprockets 4 hold and support the shelf 1load, which if fully loaded with cases of beverages 17, couldapproximate one ton. The four idler sprockets 4 are adjustable in orderto more evenly distribute the elevating force between the four chains 2.Each idler sprocket 4 is independently supported, usually by anextension of the body frame 16 within the two walls 14 of a bay divider.

Vertical motion of the shelf 1 is accomplished through rotation of twoparallel cross shafts 5 connected to the chain loops 2 by four drivingsprockets 6. Rotation of the cross shafts 5 is accomplished by therotation of a drive shaft 7 located at a point midway between the twoends of the cross shafts 5 and connected to the cross shafts 5 by a worm9 and worm gear 8 arrangement at each of the two points of intersection18 and 19 between the three shafts. The worm 9 and worm gear 8 mechanismprevents the free fall of the shelf 1 under normal operations.

5 The drive shaft 7 can be rotated in either direction by means of acrank handle 10 permanently attached to the outer end of the shaft 7,which crank handle can be folded underneath the shaft 7 (as illustratedin FIG. 1) and secured under the truck floor line 11 so as not to extendpast the outermost widthwise dimension of the truck body 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the activating mechanisms for the shelf are locatedbeneath the compartment floor 11 and each shaft is supported from thebottom of the bay floor 11 by means of pillow block bearings 12 thataresecured by any conventional manner to the floor 11.

During transit, the shelf 1 is permanently positioned by means of aratchet shaft release mechanism 13 located between the body and thedrive shaft 7 so as to prohibit drive shaft 7 rotation in one direction.THis ratchet shaft release mechanism 13 in the preferred embodimentcomprises a conventional spring loaded bar 22 (FIG. 2) which whenreleased, engages itself between the teeth of the ratchet gear 24located on the drive shaft 7 so as to only allow rotation of the shaftin one direction. The bar 22 can be held away from the ratchet gear 24-by a similar rotatable bar affixed to the bottom edge 23 of the bodyacting as a wedge between the spring loaded bar and the gear.

The shelf 1 itself is so structured out of flat stock and angle iron soas to provide a three-sided body designed for the support of a pallet(see FIG. 3). The open areas 26 within the shelf 1 not only reduce theweight but discourage the placement of stackable articles such asbeverage cases on the shelf without prior placement of a pallet 21. Theshelf 1 (as shown in FIG. 2) is also attachedto the roller chains 2 insuch an inclined position as to be at all times parallel to the inclinedbay floor 26 and perpendicular to the bay walls 14.

The inclining of the pallets 21 and the cases of articles borne therebyand the leaning of the loads inwardly towards the center of the truckbody 20 dependably maintains the pallets 21 and load on the truck duringtransportation without any auxiliary load securing means. .lostling andvibration during transportation tends securely to maintain the loads onthe truck because of the inwardly sloped bay floors 26. The rightangularrelationship of the bay walls 14 to the bay floors 26 maintains thecases of bottles beverages 17 or other articles in original stackedrelation on the pallets 21 so that the pallets 21 and their loads 17 maybe conveniently removed by a power operated forklift truck (not shown)by inserting the forks into the channel portions of the pallets 21,raising the forks to return the pallet to a horizontal position and thestacked articles to an erect stacked position thereon, further elevatingthe forks to clear the pallets 21 from the bay floors 26, and thenceconveying the removed pallet 21 and stacked articles to any desireddepositing position.

Those portions of FIGS. 2 and 3 shown to be below the compartment floorline 11, except for the folding crank handle 1 and ratchet shaft release13, are protected from outside elements encountered in transit, such asrocks, mud, and gravel by a detachable steel pan (not shown) which fitsover these parts and may be secured to the bottomside of the bay floor11 by any conventional manner. Likewise within the bay 15, the

bottommost 6 inches of chain exposure for each chain 2 is covered by aplate steel portion 30 to prevent accumulated trash and broken glassfrom becoming caught between the roller chains 2 and the drive sprockets6. These steel portions 30 (shown in FIG. 3 as an integral part of baydivider wall 14) also inherently prevent the lowering of the shelf 1 toa position less than the height ofa pallet 21 from the floor 11 of thebay 15. Since bay bodies are normally constructed for the, expresspurpose of handling stacked articles on pallets, there is little reasonfor the shelf 1 to be lowered completely into contact with the bay floor11.

it should be manifest that while a preferred embodi ment of the presentinvention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, thepresentinvention is capable of wide variation. For example, instead of atruck body, the present invention is capable of being incorporated in atrailer body or any other vehicle having bay compartments forsupporting, handling and transporting stacked articles during transitfrom manufacturing points to sales points. Also, while the preferredembodiment illustrates cases of bottles, it should be understood thatthe movable shelf apparatus of the present invention may be used forsupporting, handling and transporting any type or size of articles andis not to be limited to bottled beverages. Also, while the preferredembodiment utilizes a crank handle arrangement for activating the shelfmovement, it should be understood that any commonly used motor meanscould be used in lieu of the manual activation (crank handlearrangement), whether it be electric, pneumatic or'hydraulic. Moreover,while the shelf is illustrated as having an opening therein todiscourage the stacking of bottled beverages without a pallet on theshelf, the shelf could instead be formed as a solid sheet whereappropriate. 7

it is believed that the present invention, its mode of construction,assembly and operation, and many of its advantages attendant theretoshould be readily understood from the foregoing without furtherdescription and it should also be manifest that, while 'a preferredembodiment' of the invention has been shown and described forillustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capableof wide variation within the purview of the invention as defined in theappended ciaims.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property right orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A vehicle having an A-frame body and a plurality of bay portions onopposite sides of the longitudinal center of said vehicle for thetransportation of stacked articles on pallet members within the bayportions, each bay portion including a back bay wall and a pair ofspaced divider walls shelf means provided in each bay portion of thevehicle so as to divide thebay into adjustable proportions and whereindifferent sizes of stacked articles may be supported, handled andtransported by said shelf means, said shelf means being maintainedduring its vertical movement in a relative position within the bay ofsaid A-frame body vehicle so as to be parallel to the bay compartmentfloor and perpendicular to the back bay wall, said shelf means beinginclined towards the center of the vehicle body to minimize slippage ofarticles during transit, and elevating means provided in associationwith the bay divider walls for permanently positioning the shelf meansat any location during its vertical movement in the bay portion, andactivating means provided for applying a torque to the elevating means.

2. A vehicle as defined in claim I, wherein independent elevating meansand activating means is associated with each shelf means so as to enableeach bay to be divided into adjustable proportions for articleseparation purposes upon the independent operation of each respectiveactivating means.

3. A vehicle, as defined in claim 14, wherein the activating meanscomprises a motor means for applying the torque to the elevating means.

4. A vehicle, as defined in claim 1, wherein the elevating meanscomprises an adjustable support means on the bay divider walls andattached to opposite sides of the shelf and wherein the activating meansare positioned beneath the bay compartment floors.

5. A vehicle as defined in claim 4, wherein the adjustable support meanscomprises a pair of chains, each chain being connected to the shelf byan attaching link and bracket member, said chains forming a continuousloop between upper and lower corresponding sprocket members that are inturn interconnected through the activating means for vertical movementof the shelf, all of said chains and sprocket members being recessedinto the bay divider walls so as not to interfere or otherwise obstructthe expeditious loading and unloading of the stacked articles on palletsby a pallet forklift.

6. A vehicle as defined in claim 5, wherein:

A pair of parallel cross shafts are interconnected to the chains throughthe sprocket members, and wherein the cross shafts are connectedtogether by a drive shaft which is located at a point between the twoends of each cross shaft and which is connected to the cross shafts byvirtue of a worm and worm gear mechanism.

7. A vehicle as defined in claim 6, wherein a crank handle means areconnected to the drive shaft for mechanically activating the elevatingmeans, and further wherein a ratchet shaft release mechanism isassociated with a ratchet gear on the drive shaft so as to only allowrotation of the drive shaft in one direction.

8. A vehicle as defined in claim 4, wherein the adjustable support meanscomprises four chains, each chain being connected to one of the fourrespective corners of the shelf means by an attaching link and bracketmember, said chains forming four continuous loops between upper andlower corresponding sprocket members that are in turn interconnectedthrough the activating mean for vertical movement of the shelf withinsaid bay.

9. A vehicle as defined in claim 18, wherein: a pair of parallel crossshafts are interconnected to the chains through the sprocket members,and wherein the cross shafts are connected together by a drive shaftwhich is located at a point between the two ends of each cross shaft andwhich is connected to the cross shafts by virtue of a worm and worm gearmechanism.

10. A vehicle having a plurality of bay portions on opposite sides ofthe longitudinal center of said vehicle for the transportation ofstacked articles on pallet members within the bay portions, each bayportion including a back bay wall and a pair of spaced divider walls 9 v10 shelf means provided in each bay portion of the vehiactivating meansprovided for applying a torque to cle so as to divide the bay intoadjustable proporthe elevating means. tions and wherein different sizesof stacked articles 11 A hi l as d fi d i l i 10, h i h l y be pp fhandled and tl'arlsported y Said vating means comprises a pair ofchains, each chain shel f means, said shelf means being maintained beingconnected to the shelf means by an attaching link i l its vertical in arelative and bracket member, said chains forming a continuous gg g f gzg j lg S223 g gz g g g rg fi: loop between upper and lower correspondingsprocket mem floor and perpendicular to the y divider members that arein turn mterconnected through the actlvattng means for vertical movementof the shelf walls and back bay wall, said back bay wall being inclinedtowards the longitudinal center of the vemeans of Sand chams andsprocket members bemg hide body, and recessed into the bay divider wallsso as not to interfere elevating means provided in association with thebay otherwise obstruct the expeditious loading and divider walls forpermanently positioning the shelf loading O the Stacked articles onpallets by a pallet means at any desired location during its vertical 5forklift. movement in the bay portion, and

I UNITE-D- STATES PATENT.- OFFICE f CERTIFICATE. OF CORRECTION- Patent150. 3,786,947 January 22, 1974 Inventofls) a s pressley' Craft IIIv Itis certified that error eppears' 1n the above identified patent and thatsaid LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Cancel the sheet of drawing which reads I "SheetS of 3". "Sheet 1 of 3and Sheet 2, of- 3" -sh ou1d read si ed-aid .g'eiea this 24th day ofswee -6r 1974.

(SEAL) fittest: v

McCOY GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL'DA N Attesting Officer v v Commissions; ofPatents I meow-0c cove-"i FORM Po-wso (10-69) I

1. A vehicle having an A-frame body and a plurality of bay portions onopposite sides of the longitudinal center of said vehicle for thetransportation of stacked articles on pallet members within the bayportions, each bay portion including a back bay wall and a pair ofspaced divider walls shelf means provided in each bay portion of thevehicle so as to divide the bay into adjustable proportions and whereindifferent sizes of stacked articles may be supported, handled andtransported by said shelf means, said shelf means being maintainedduring its vertical movement in a relative position within the bay ofsaid A-frame body vehicle so as to be parallel to the bay compartmentfloor and perpendicular to the back bay wall, said shelf means beinginclined towards the center of the vehicle body to minimize slippage ofarticles during transit, and elevating means provided in associationwith the bay divider walls for permanently positioning the shelf meansat any location during its vertical movement in the bay portion, andactivating means provided for applying a torque to the elevating means.2. A vehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein independent elevating meansand activating means is associated with each shelf means so as to enableeach bay to be divided into adjustable proportions for articleseparation purposes upon the independent operation of each respectiveactivating means.
 3. A vehicle, as defined in claim 14, wherein theactivating means comprises a motor means for applying the torque to theelevating means.
 4. A vehicle, as defined in claim 1, wherein theelevating means comprises an adjustable support means on the bay dividerwalls and attached to opposite sides of the shelf and wherein theactivating means are positioned beneath the bay compartment floors.
 5. Avehicle as defined in claim 4, wherein the adjustable support meanscomprises a pair of chains, each chain being connected to the shelf byan attaching link and bracket member, said chains forming a continuousloop between upper and lower corresponding sprocket members that are inturn interconnected through the activating means for vertical movementof the shelf, all of said chains and sprocket members being recessedinto the bay divider walls so as not to interfere or otherwise obstructthe expeditious loading and unloading of the stacked articles on palletsby a pallet forklift.
 6. A vehicle as defined in claim 5, wherein: Apair of parallel cross shafts are interconnected to the chains throughthe sprocket members, and wherein the cross shafts are connectedtogether by a drive shaft which is located at a point between the twoends of each cross shaft and which is connected to the cross shafts byvirtue of a worm and worm gear mechanism.
 7. A vehicle as defined inclaim 6, wherein a crank handle means are connected to the drive shaftfor mechanically activating the elevating means, and further wherein aratchet shaft release mechanism is associated with a ratchet gear on thedrive shaft so as to only allow rotation of the drive shaft in onedirection.
 8. A vehicle as defined in claim 4, wherein the adjustablesupport means comprises four chains, each chain being connected to oneof the four respective corners of the shelf means by an attaching linkand bracket member, said chains forming four continuous loops betweenupper and lower corresponding sprocket members that are in turninterconnected through the activating mean for vertical movement of theshelf within said bay.
 9. A vehicle as defined in claim 18, wherein: apair of parallel cross shafts are interconnected to the chains throughthe sprocket members, and wherein the cross shafts are connectedtogether by a drive shaft which is located at a point between the tWoends of each cross shaft and which is connected to the cross shafts byvirtue of a worm and worm gear mechanism.
 10. A vehicle having aplurality of bay portions on opposite sides of the longitudinal centerof said vehicle for the transportation of stacked articles on palletmembers within the bay portions, each bay portion including a back baywall and a pair of spaced divider walls shelf means provided in each bayportion of the vehicle so as to divide the bay into adjustableproportions and wherein different sizes of stacked articles may besupported, handled and transported by said shelf means, said shelf meansbeing maintained during its vertical movement in a relative positionwithin the bay of said vehicle between the bay divider walls so as to beparallel to the bay compartment floor and perpendicular to the baydivider walls and back bay wall, said back bay wall being inclinedtowards the longitudinal center of the vehicle body, and elevating meansprovided in association with the bay divider walls for permanentlypositioning the shelf means at any desired location during its verticalmovement in the bay portion, and activating means provided for applyinga torque to the elevating means.
 11. A vehicle as defined in claim 10,wherein the elevating means comprises a pair of chains, each chain beingconnected to the shelf means by an attaching link and bracket member,said chains forming a continuous loop between upper and lowercorresponding sprocket members that are in turn interconnected throughthe activating means for vertical movement of the shelf means, all ofsaid chains and sprocket members being recessed into the bay dividerwalls so as not to interfere or otherwise obstruct the expeditiousloading and unloading of the stacked articles on pallets by a palletforklift.